SOMERSET — You can call this one a huge learning experience for Dana Williams and her Lawrence High girls basketball team.

On their way to a second straight winning season, and maybe a Colonial Valley Conference Patriot title, the 8-3 Lawrence girls learned a valuable lesson on Sunday when Somerville pulled away in the final three quarters to tag the Cardinals with a 49-24 loss in the final game of the Hoops Mountain North/South Classic, held at Rutgers Prep.

What 6-4 Somerville taught the Cardinals was how to play pressure defense at one end and good-passing, deliberate offense at the other. Combined with 19 for 41 shooting and a disciplined style that put three scorers in double-digits, the Pioneers ended a four-game win streak for Lawrence.

“They’re definitely very good,” said Williams. “I was impressed with their patience, especially on defense because they’re big-bodied, but they are always helping out.

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“They played a 2-2-1 and did a lot of trapping that at times looked like zone. They pretty much played man, but their weak-side help was always in the lane,” Williams added. “So we’re trying to drive after beating our kid, and there’s two more girls ready to pick us up. And they’re twice our size. They are very, very good.”

Better than anything the Cardinals have seen or will likely see in the CVC this season.

After Amirah Brown’s 3-pointer and Marisa Visco’s jumper earned Lawrence an 11-8 lead late in the first quarter, Somerville went on a 9-3 run in the second, allowing only Daphne Ginn’s trey 1:51 before halftime.

Ginn’s jumper and two 3-pointers were the only points Lawrence got in the third period when its deficit quickly grew as it was outscored 20-2 in the final eight minutes, getting only two free throws from Brooke West.

Kelly McCurty (15) and Bridget Douglas (10) led ’Ville’s starters, while Sarah Todd got 10 off the bench in the second half to demoralize a Lawrence team that not only shot terribly (8 for 47), but threw the ball away 24 times as it learned a lesson it will be better off not watching on a tape replay on Monday.